


Fur-Ball

by SonjaJade



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Allergies, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2016-10-15
Packaged: 2018-08-22 13:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8287678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonjaJade/pseuds/SonjaJade
Summary: Braeda can't explain it, but Dr. Knox sure can.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Headcanon Theater. Takes place before canon, but after Ishval.

Dr. Knox scanned the file in his hands: Msgt. Heymans Braeda, twenty-seven, five feet and nine inches tall, two hundred and fifty four pounds, perfect annual physicals and only seen once for a cold. And though Knox was assigned to the morgue these days, flu season was raging in Central and every available doctor was on deck to treat sick soldiers. The barrel-chested young man in front of him wasn't sick with the flu however.  
  
“Well, you're not running a temperature, so that rules out the flu,” he said as he sat the manila folder aside. “Tell me about your symptoms.”  
  
The  officer cleared his throat as best as he could. When he spoke, his sinuses sounded blocked from top to bottom. “I can hardly breathe, I sneeze and sneeze, my eyes water and everything is so itchy,” he groaned. “I'd be alright if I could just breathe!”  
  
Knox took a look into the back of the soldier's mouth, then peered into each of his ears. “No infection that I can see… How long's this been going on?” While his patient was thinking about it, Knox started writing notes on some paperwork.  
  
“I think it started about three weeks ago.”  
  
That ruled out any food allergens. “Who does your laundry?”  
  
“I do it myself, same soap I've always used.” He speculated on whether cleaning the vents out at the barracks could have caused it, but that was about two weeks before his symptoms started, he noted. “So you think it might be an allergy?”  
  
Knox nodded. “Something's gotten up your nose and really screwed with your airways, son. Anything at all different in the last three weeks?”  
  
Braeda wondered aloud, trying to track down anything different. “Apart from having the air ducts cleaned and the cat staying inside now, no.”  
  
“Cat?”  
  
Braeda grinned. “Mauser, he's sort of a good luck charm in my dorm. Every time he comes around, we win big on trivia night. So when the cold snap came, we brought him inside so he wouldn't freeze.”  
  
“I think we found the problem then.” He wrote more notes. “Do your symptoms seem to improve when you're away from your dorm?”  
  
The soldier nodded. “Yeah, like by the end of my shift, I can almost breathe again. But as soon as I go back to the room, it gets worse all over again.”  
  
Knox nodded, then began writing him a prescription. “Good news is I think we found the source of your problem. Bad news is if this medication I'm prescribing doesn't work, you're gonna have to get rid of your furry friend.”  
  
His patient sighed. “Alright.”  
  
“Is he lucky for just trivia or can he help with poker too?”  
  
“Lucky all around, doc. Need to borrow him for a bit?”  
  
Knox smiled as he handed the file off to a nurse. “Just might have to! I could use a lucky cat around!”  
  
Four days later, Knox was the proud owner of a black and white cat.

**Author's Note:**

> Knox still has the cat when Mei and Lan Fan and Al are hanging around, but he was scared of Al's armor and doesn't like women, so he was hiding in the pantry with his food and litter box :)


End file.
